Feature
synod.org
ALMOST 300 Synod members packed Box Hill Town Hall throughout the five business days of the meeting to discern and discuss the future of the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania. Before that Rev Dr Robyn Whitaker set the tone for the 13th Synod meeting during the opening worship at St Michael’s Uniting Church on the Friday night. She urged Synod members to “wrestle with God and one another… in our very noncombative UCA way of holding up coloured cards.” Perhaps the biggest news that emerged from this year’s Synod was the announcement of the moderator-elect. In a Synod-first, the announcement was live streamed on Facebook. Rev Denise Liersch, minister at The Avenue Uniting Church in Blackburn, was chosen as the moderator-elect. She will be installed at the opening worship service of the 2019 Synod, where she will replace the current moderator Rev Sharon Hollis.
The Synod received visitors from assembly with the president, Stuart McMillan, assembly general secretary Colleen Geyer and president-elect Dr Deidre Palmer all in attendance. In preparation for the 15th Assembly next July, Synod members were asked to participate in working group discussions on the Uniting Church’s position on marriage and recognising sovereignty of the First Peoples in Australia. The Synod’s conversations attracted the attention of the ABC, who ran a Lateline story on how faith communities can have respectful discussions on same-gender marriage. The sessions in the main hall were dominated by the amendments to the Synod Standing Committee bylaws and a suite of proposals from the Presbytery Transition Team. After days of deliberations and revisions, the Synod reached consensus on presbytery funding. Reformed bylaws for the Synod Standing Committee were also adopted. But one proposed requirement for rural and Tasmanian representation was not adopted after a majority, rather than the usual consensus, vote.
Moderator-elect follows the God of surprises
REV Denise Liersch was named as the moderator-elect of the Uniting Church Synod of VicTas following a ballot on the Sunday of Synod. Ms Liersch will be installed as the moderator at the opening worship service of the 2019 Synod, replacing the current Moderator Rev Sharon Hollis, and will serve until the 2022 Synod. She is currently the minster at Blackburn (The Avenue) in the Presbytery of Yarra Yarra. Ms Liersch – who is married with two children – was one of three nominations for the position with the others being Rev Stan Clarke and Rev Sani Vaeluaga. After the ballot result was announced at the Synod meeting, Ms Liersch encouraged members to keep on following the God of surprises. “When we follow we keep on following, when we walk together as First and Second
People we keep walking together. We seek community and we keep going,’’ she said. Ms Liersch said she loved the Synod’s mission statement as it was not so much about strategic growth as an approach to life where we are always following Jesus. It was about being attentive and responsive to God, the one we are following, and attentive and responsive to those we were walking with. She said she was reminded by the story of Jacob (Genesis 32:22-31). “It was in the struggle that Jacob saw the face of God but he also needed to learn to let go,’’ she said. “As Jesus Christ said, perhaps the grain of wheat needs to die when placed in the ground in order to grow into new life. “We (truly) give ourselves over (to God) when we can discover ourselves surprised by what happens. (When) we keep believing in the God of surprises.’’
explore the impacts of family violence within the community, youth group facilitation and youth leadership opportunities.
Leprena is developing a culturally safe and inclusive space and this is symbolised by wall murals expressing contemporary Aboriginal culture, which have been produced by local teenage Indigenous artist Grace Williams. UAICC Tasmania chair and minister Rev Tim Matton-Johnson said work had been done on collating and finding ways to display cultural information about the life of the UAICC ministry in Tasmania. A second “on country” workshop has been held on Bruny Island as part of a family violence project funded by the Tasmanian state government. The same program also recently developed a successful Safe Families Expo in the Moonah Arts Centre. Ms Overeem said Leprena continued to develop networks with other not-for-profit providers of services for Aboriginal people. “This allows us to provide safe space for the provision of services at no cost to us for Aboriginal families who otherwise may find
accessing such services intimidating,” he said. “These have included literacy projects, a school holiday program and a play group, work readiness training and mentoring.” House church worship is also being offered by Congress in Launceston with contact maintained and fostered amongst the wider Aboriginal community. Craig McGough is UAICC Victoria’s Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre general manager. He said Narana continued to be a significant destination which offers authentic and immersive cultural experiences to families, tour groups, schools, community and business groups and church groups. Narana attracts up to 1000 visitors a week. Cultural education is delivered daily to school, community and business groups by Narana’s team of Indigenous educators. They help visitors appreciate and understand ancient Dream stories, connection to country, artwork, cultural artefacts and bush tucker.
SYNOD 2017 heard feedback of what VicTas members think about same-gender marriage and what they would like the national Uniting Church Assembly to keep in mind as it discusses the Church’s position next year. On the Sunday of Synod working groups convened to discuss same-gender marriage and what the Uniting Church should consider for Assembly. Two facilitation group leaders Rev Rachel Kronberger and Phil Morris presented a summary of what the groups had said
to the general meeting of Synod on Tuesday morning. Ms Kronberger first outlined some of the hopes that the groups had expressed about what was going to occur at Assembly. The groups hoped that the Church would be open to equality, safe and honest conversation, deep listening and respect as well as accepting diversity. A particular hope was that the Church listen to the voices of LGBTIQ, CALD and First Peoples. There was also a desire for a clear theology of marriage. Three working groups expressed the hope that the Church would change the
definition of marriage to being “between two people”. The groups expressed concerns over the conflict, disunity and potential schism the subject could engender in the Church. There were also concerns the members and congregations could be marginalised, left behind or pressured to conform. Some groups were concerned by details such as whether a same-gender marriage could be conducted in a church building and what would happen if ministers or congregations disagreed. One group warned of rushing to decision and another of the danger of indecision. In its preparation to discuss the topic
Walking together at Synod THE Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congresses in Tasmania and Victoria presented Synod members with a broad overview of their work in both states. Alison Overeem is the centre manager at UAICC’s Leprena facility in Hobart’s northern suburbs. She said Congress was seeking to provide holistic community development and cultural inclusion through its work. Ms Overeem said a strong relationship had been developed with the Presbytery of Tasmania and praised the work of former synod liaison minister Carol Bennet and former presbytery chair David Reeve in helping to sustain this. The work being done at Leprena includes cultural learning and sharing opportunities, empowerment programs for women to
Synod members given say on same-gender marriage
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CROSSLIGHT - OCTOBER 17